Rabies Toll Rises

North Bali Teacher Dies 7 Month After Being Bitten by a Stray Dog and Failing to Seek Anti-Rabies Treatment.

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(3/12/2011)

48-year-old Luh Sri Reksen, a grade school teacher from Bubunan Seririt in North Bali, has become Bali's latest victim of rabies following her death on Wednesday, March 9, 2011.

As reported by Kompas.com, the woman's 75-year-old father, Ketut Wirata, said that prior to her death his daughter suffered chest pains, difficulties in swallowing and seizures. When the woman began foaming at the mouth her family rushed her to two different private hospitals in North Bali where she died a short time later.

According to family members, Reksen was bitten in the leg by a stray dog about seven months prior to falling fatally ill. According to her brother: "We reminded her to quickly get anti—rabies vaccine from the hospital. But she ignored our advice, insisting that the bite was not dangerous."

Health officials have given anti-rabies vaccine to surviving family members who may have been accidentally infected by the dead woman prior to her death.